Fafnir sat on the lounge chair. He silently thought about who sent him the warning message. The assistant had no ability to write messages. But something was allowed. It was possible to send the message to his assistant and then ask it to relay it to Fafnir. This would be a possibility. But they would need to be one of his contacts, and they would need to be watching Fafnir.
Fafnir checked his contact list. He doesn’t recall most of the names on it. The two that were closest to him were his siblings, Telesto and Nora.
Telesto Faustus had dedicated himself to the designing of airships and strategic weapons. He was mostly active in… The home continent. The greatest of the three, a utopia of wonders in technology, or as humans thought. They were pretty primitive to most of his family. Telesto’s Ark always orbited his family’s home. He would be too caught in the political struggles of his home to notice anything about Fafnir. Not that he cared. Telesto was cold and calculated, even more so than Fafnir himself.
Nora Faustus was the worst in every class except for combat. She hated thinking too much. Her exams often included her threatening Fafnir and Telesto to help her pass. She did have the power to back her threats up though. She excelled in combat but was bad at creating weapons. When Fafnir and Telesto were crafting lasers, Nora often made mangled swords for her assignments. She could fight Fafnir on even terms with a dagger while Fafnir used a flaming sword. Nora worked as a mercenary after barely passing the exams of the final semester. She could be anywhere, and would often be seen on battlefields. She often asked Fafnir to help her make weapons, because she broke hers and was impatient to make her own. Nora was not likely to stalk Fafnir.
That leaves the possibility out of the question. Most of his other contacts were silent for a year or so. They were blank in Fafnir’s mind. Lost with his shard.
Could it be that the assistant had gained sentience?
Not likely. First, he was sure that his code was perfect. Second, the possibility that the assistant would gain sentience was tiny. He could dismiss this thought.
Then it only leaves miracles. Often miracles would appear to save heroes from death. He had heard instances of it. Fafnir never considered himself a hero. He was a warrior, a scientist and a magician. But he didn’t have the positive sides that were the core of the typical hero. He was someone that had understood the world. Hell, maybe he could be an antagonist if he wanted. But he could never be a villain. He had seen the horrors of the world, but never wanted to let it burn. The two terms had different meanings.
He snapped back to his hypothesis. For now, the chances of the assistant gaining sentience and the chances of a miracle are similar.
“Excuse me, sir?”
Fafnir looked up. The receptionist was staring at him.
“Are you waiting for somebody?”
“Sorry. I was lost in thought there for a second.”
Fafnir replied though a voice he was not familiar with. He realized that he had never spoken in the past 3 days.
“Well, in this case, are you an adventurer?”
Fafnir thought for a second. She must want me to join the guild. If I do, I will be able to access their resources. But that means adhering to their code.
“Yes, I do consider myself an adventurer.”
“Would I interest you in a chance to join the guild?”
Fafnir thought for a second.
“I accept.”
This was a calculated answer. Fafnir needed all the help he could get to recover his shards.
After a long time of paperwork, Fafnir was almost to the end of the list. The last piece of paper had many important details. So he read through them.
What type of adventurer would you consider yourself to be?
A: Mercenary
B: Explorer
C: Normal Adventurer
He chose C. It was the best answer since he doesn’t know much about the other types. Nora often told him about her life, but it barely scratched the surface of the complexity.
What is your class?
A: Warrior
B: Rouge
C: Mage
D: other(insert choice)
He was not sure about that if a technomancer counted, so he chose D and wrote “Technomancer”
Finish by writing your nickname. This is the name you will be called by other adventurers.
He wrote”Fafnir”, and handed the paper to the receptionist. The receptionist handed him his quarter keys and a map of the tower. He took the elevator. His quarters were very close to the platform where they parked the airships, and too close for his likings to the alchemists. That will have to be settled for later. His room was plain, but he could decorate it however he wanted. For now, he had to check the missions for adventurers.
The hall was pretty empty for now, with only a few groups around. He could see a dwarf also looking at the board. A big mission was at the center of the board.
“Say, lad, are ya also joining this mission?”
He turned his head and found that the dwarf had noticed him. The dwarf wore an ornate helmet, and had a banner on his back. On his side was a Weapon with a Hammerhead and a pickaxe as the hilt. He was curious about how the design would function.
“I haven’t decided yet. What’s it about?
The dwarf pointed at the paper. Fafnir read through it.
“Recently, my dwarven brothers discovered a mine festering with monsters. It was rich beyond our imagination, with only the great mine discovered by the first high king being able to match it. Many raw materials were discovered in a prospecting mission. The minerals could stretch to the mantle.The dwarven kingdom had dedicated most of its resources to the mine. The mine was dangerous, with magic mutating the local wildlife.”
“Long story short, we will leave with a supply convoy tomorrow, escort it, and stay at the mining site for some time. The cave is hella big, so we will have a good time exploring through it. We would be expected to fight through any rivals that wanted the mine for themselves, and the mutated wildlife.”
“So, are you a soldier working for your kingdom?”
“Nah. I am a mercenary. I joined this because I wanted to help my brothers, and also because I wanted to see action. Not to mention free beer provided each day. That would be like heaven to a dwarf. So, you in?”
Fafnir silently chuckled. He had always heard about how dwarves enjoyed beer, more than any other race had.
“Yeah, why not? It would feel good to finally see some action.”
“Ok. The three ships on the platform are ours. Meet us at the platform tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
“And one thing, lad. What species are you? You look too mechanical for a human, and automatons talk odd. You can communicte normally, so you can’t be”
“I prefer to keep that a secret. Would that be fine with you?”
“Fine. What’s ya name?”
“Fafnir. Fafnir Faustus.”
“Huh. Ya know, you share the last name with one of our other companions. Her name is Nora Faustus. Are you two related by some chance?
Fafnir felt surprised. Nora was here? That would be an unexpected reunion.
“Yes. She is my sister.”
“Huh. So you are a dragon too! Well, I should not mess with personal info too much. By the way, the name is Dawn. You can search my files on the computer.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow then.”
